


Beliefs

by MamzelleHermy



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Continuation of season 1, Inspired by season 2 trailers, Malcolm Bright Gets a Hug, Protective Dani Powell, Spoilers for season 1 ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:01:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28458708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MamzelleHermy/pseuds/MamzelleHermy
Summary: Inspired by one of the season 2 trailers.Malcolm gets arrested but his colleagues won't believe he deserves it and will fight for him.
Relationships: Malcolm Bright & Dani Powell
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Beliefs

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> Before anything, let me wish you all a very happy 2021! I hope it will be better than 2020 (it doesn't look like this for me but well, 12 days to wait for season 2 sooo at least that's that).
> 
> Prodigal Son has been and will be my saviour those days so I am very happy to have managed to write this to celebrate New Year! It just refused to leave my brain after I saw this trailer where Malcolm looks like he tries to convince Ainsley that he was the murderer. I am, however, quite sure things will not go that way. But well, I just CAN'T WAIT!
> 
> Have a great New Year, stay safe, maybe read you in 2021!

The call comes as they are carefully going through Endicott’s office to try and figure out where the man could be. Dani ignores it as it comes on the general channel but...

“Wait, that’s Bright’s mother’s address.” JT comments.

Dani freezes, leather-covered agenda in hand and stares at her partner, mentally replaying the message she heard without listening. She realizes  he is right, ice filling her veins.

Not a word is exchanged as they leave the place to  unis they trust to answer the call.

Dani checks her phone as soon as she sits down next to JT. No missed calls, no text. She calls Malcolm, her fingers drumming on her tight as she listens to the phone ring.

_ “This is Malcolm...” _

She hangs up as  violently as possible with a smartphone.

“Bright’s not picking up.” She informs JT and sees his hands tighten on the wheel.

“I’m sure he’s alright.” The affirmation is belied by the way he speeds up, flicking on the flashing lights and siren to pass through red lights.

They arrive to a chaos of police vehicles, ambulances and, of course, journalists. Although, those were being kept as far away as possible.

“Damn.” JT mutters as he stops as close to the police cordon as possible.

They flash their badges and quickly cross towards the luxurious house. They reach the back of the ambulance in time to catch sight of a dazed-looking Ainsley, her face sickly white beneath streaks of red blood.

Dani’s mouth drops open as her heart skips several beats, her mind running through possible explanations.

“Hey. What happened to her?” JT is already asking the paramedic that was about to close the door, badge still in hand.

The man shrugs.

“Don’t know, sorry. She’s catatonic, we’re taking her to Saint Matthew’s for examination.”

“Okay, thanks.”

The door closes with a loud clang that shakes Dani out of her mounting anxiety. She turns towards the mansion and climbs the stairs, silently praying for Malcolm to be okay. 

They enter to what can only be described as controlled chaos. Police officers are spread across the spacious entry, most looking confused and others almost sick. Dani eyes JT, seeing the same confusion she feels reflected in his eyes.

“Detective  Tarmel , detective Powell, Major Crimes, tell us what happened here.” JT asks a passing officer.

The man nods and leads them to the living room where they had previously found the Whitly family assembled. He starts talking but Dani just can’t take any word in. Her mind is overwhelmed with both the smell of blood and death and with the sight in front of her. The room could have looked normal except that it was bathed in blood that was surrounding the body of a man that could only be Nicholas Endicott. Nausea rises in her throat as she observes the body. 

“Where... Where’s Malcolm?” She asks, voice weak.

The officer frowns at her and she realizes she probably rudely interrupted him.

“He’s under arrest in the kitchen. He was caught knife in hand and confessed to the murder.”

“What?” JT and Dani exclaim at the same moment.

The man nods far too gleefully for Dani and leads them to the kitchen where Malcolm is sitting surrounded by two more officers. He was pale and his blue eyes were wide but he looked strangely calm, his cuffed hands steady in front of him.

“Leave us.” JT growls and the two men look at each other before slowly stepping out of the room.

Silence fills the room as Malcolm ignores them, eyes fixed on the floor.

“What the hell?” JT explodes when it seems clear the profiler wouldn’t open his mouth.

Dani concurs but she can’t open her mouth. She just doesn’t know what to say. She tries to imagine Malcolm killing, no butchering, Endicott, but she just can’t.

“Dammit just say something!” JT is pacing, arms crossed  angrily .

“I killed Nicholas Endicott.” Malcolm finally says. His voice is low but unwavering. Completely believable. And Dani almost does believe him. Except...

“That’s bullshit.” She exclaims so strongly that Malcolm’s eyes lift to hers for half a second before looking back down.

He opens his mouth, hesitates for a second, then repeats.

“I killed him.”

She looks at JT. He looks confused but she can see the doubt in his eyes too.

“Nah. I’m not buying it either.” He finally says.

“Why can’t you never believe me!” Malcolm explodes, shooting to his feet but Dani thinks he looks more desperate than angry.

His shoots, however, attract the attention to the unis outside that come back in, guns raised.

“Sit back down! Now!”

“It’s okay! Put the guns down!” JT protests even as Malcolm sits back down.

Dani watches as his hands start trembling again. He clenches them and carefully looks away. She wants to confront him again but before she can open her mouth, she’s interrupted.

“ Tarmel , Powell. Out. Now.”

JT turns to exit the room but she takes a step closer to Malcolm, lowering her voice so only he can hear her.

“This is not over. I don’t know why you’re lying, but I am not letting you go down for another crime you didn’t commit.”

Bright looks up at her with unreadable blue eyes.

“Powell!” The voice has stopped being polite.

She turns to join JT and the member of the board that they have only seen in Gil’s office.

“You two are off this case. You’re too close to this and we’re in deep enough shit that we do not need any further accusation of corruption.”

Both Dani and JT open their mouth to protest.

“Do I need to put you on mandatory leave?”

Their mouth clamp shut and Dani bits her lips.

“No Sir.” They answer.

“Good. Now get out of here. We’ll handle this.”

They have no choice but to obey and leave the house. They go back to the car but stay sited inside, watching as their friend is brought out under the excited cries of journalists.

Dani felt sickened.

“We have to do something.” She whispers, voice chocked.

“Yeah.” JT agrees. 

It’s a shame neither quite know what they could do. 

* * *

They find themselves in a coffeeshop near the precinct where they would usually go to get coffee when they were tired of the breakroom dubious concoction.

Dani is clutching her tea with both hands, trying to get rid of the image of Endicott’s body that keeps popping up in her mind’s eye.

“Why would Malcolm accuse himself of a murder he didn’t commit?” She asks out loud.

“Didn’t he, thought?” JT answers.

She glares at him and he raises his hands.

“I’m just saying I saw him chop a man’s hand off on his first day.” 

Dani could not disagree that Malcolm is capable of violence when circumstances  require it. But the level of... Hate they saw on Endicott’s body? She just couldn’t see it.

“It was different and you know it.”

JT sighs deeply and nods.

“He knew we were onto Endicott. He knew we were on his tracks. It makes no sense to kill him.” She carries on anyway.

They knew Malcolm doesn’t consider death as an acceptable closure. He wants people to get properly punished. That’s why he didn’t kill Watkins. That’s why he called the police on his own father.

They sit in silence for some time, sipping their hot drinks thoughtfully.

“Okay. Let’s say Bright didn’t kill the man Then who did?”

Dani looks at him.

“There was only one other person on scene...” She starts.

“Ainsley?” JT completes, he doesn’t seem to believe it.

In all honestly, Dani isn’t sure she does either but...

“Who else would he go to prison for?” She asks.

“Damn.” JT answers.

Dani can only nod in agreement. She didn’t know if Ainsley could kill a man but she was certain that Malcolm would go to prison to spare her.

Now they only have to make him admit it.

“So... What do we do now?” JT says, unknowingly echoing her own thoughts.

Dani shrugs, takes another sip of tea. It doesn’t help with her worry.

“I... I don’t know.”

A heavy silence  falls between the both of them and they feel the absence of their boss even more. They both know Gil would know what to do. He has dealt with enough Whitly drama to be considered a specialist. Not to mention that he was the one with the influence in the precinct.

* * *

They end up not being able to do much. Not because they don’t want to. But because they are very carefully kept as far away as possible from anything even remotely close to the latest Whitly born drama.

Especially once the FBI got involved. 

_ They should have known it _ , Dani thought as she watches Colette Swanson enter the precinct the morning after Malcolm got arrested. She has to fight to keep her features unbothered as the FBI agent stops at her desk.

“I warned you Malcolm Bright couldn’t be trusted.” She says, looking only too proud at herself.

Dani doesn’t answer but her hands clench beneath her desk. Obviously,  _ Agent _ Swanson was too full of herself to notice. She quickly sauntered away and JT replaced her with a deadly glare.

“God knows how she’s still FBI with that attitude.” He growls. Dani nods but her worry for Malcolm only increases. 

It already seemed almost impossible to save him before between his confession and his prints all over the murder weapon but with Colette Swanson in the investigation team? 

“She’s never going to listen to us.” Dani answers.

And she is right, obviously. Still, they try. They go find the investigation team, expose their theory. They are barely two sentences in before they get pushed out.

It’s disheartening and they find themselves back in the coffeeshop, pondering what more they could do.

* * *

Their saving grace comes the next day, just as they learn that Bright will be booked to be taken to jail to await trial.

It comes in the form of their enthusiastic ME. From afar they see Edrisa cross the bullpen, all seriousness, followed by a tall man in another white lab coat. They know that it was the ME sent by the FBI to look over her shoulder as she performs her work because they both received angry texts late at night.

Dani doesn’t try to hide as she comes to lean against JT’s desk, trying to understand what was being said from facial expressions. She wishes she had Malcolm’s talent for this.

The darkening of Agent Swanson’s expression makes hope rise in Dani’s gut. She glances at her partner and sees his fingers crossed and  his gaze unwavering. She turns back in time to watch Colette exit the room with a thunderous expression, slamming the door.

Dani tries to quench the hope but she doesn’t quite succeed. They watch Edrisa leave but wait for a beat before following. They don’t want to jeopardize the ME reputation of impartiality. 

Ten minutes late, they find the ME almost bouncing on her feet in her office. She rushes to close the door behind them.

“What took you so long?”

Dani opens her mouth to answer.

“Never mind. Bright didn’t kill Endicott. Of course, I knew he didn’t. He’s got no mean bone in his body. I admit it was hard to prove. But I’m good at my job. Not even that stupid overbearing prat could...”

“Wait. Wait.” JT interrupts the flow of rapid speech that looked like it would quickly turn into criticism of her federal-employed colleague. “You did it?”

Edrisa look affronted for a moment then grins.

“Of course! And I would  appreciate you not doubting my skill JT.”

“How?” Dani asks breathlessly. She could hug Edrisa. 

The ME launches into a complex explanation that Dani only half follows because her mind is still stuck on the thought that they are getting Malcolm out of prison. 

“You’re a genius!” JT concludes.

“ Again, with the surprise!”

They all grin at each other, relief a palpable thing in the room. Dani feels like she can breathe easier again.

“What happens now?” JT asks after a time, leaning against Edrisa’s desk.

“Well, obviously they will release Bright and they’ll go arrest Ainsley at the hospital.” The doctor answers, dampening the cheerful mood. “Doesn’t sound much of a win now...”

Dani nods. She doesn’t imagine Malcolm will either.

They stay together for some time but then, Edrisa is called on a crime scene and JT and Dani decide they should get Malcolm.

They are too late. The officer in charge tells them he had been released ten minutes ago and left. 

Dani wants to go after him but she knows she’s on the clock and pretty much under observation. She sighs inwardly. She goes to her desk and goes back to her paperwork. 

It goes without saying she’s not the most efficient. Part of her feels guilty about it. But she just can’t get her mind to focus. She wonders where Malcolm is. She wonders if Ainsley has already been placed under arrest and in what state she was in, her pale face suddenly appearing in her mind’s eye. And the worry about Gil’s condition that had been eclipsed under all the other concern was now nagging at her again. 

At 5PM sharp, she sees JT push his chair back.

“How about we call it a day?”

“Hell yeah.” She answers, only too happy to finally be free.

They walk together to the elevator.

“So... I was thinking of visiting Gil, you in?”

Dani hesitates. She wants to see Gil but...

“Or you could go check on how our profiler is fairing?”

She smiles. Under all his tough guy attitude, she knows he is just as worried about their newest team member. She is terribly grateful for his support.

“I’ll... I’ll do that. Keep me updated?”

“Of course. You too?”

Dani nods.

Her nerves increase the closer she gets to Bright’s neighborhood and by the time she parks a couple of blocks from his flat her hands are shaking. She’s scared of what she would find. She knows Malcolm would probably not be very happy with her or the team but she couldn’t feel sorry for it. Despite what he thought, she didn’t believe Malcolm should be held responsible for a murder he didn’t commit.

She spots the two badly hidden cops parked in front of Bright’s building and sighs. Swanson will definitely never get over her dislike of him. She looks up to find his half-circle window illuminated. At least, he is there. She  press the interphone and waits.

No answer  comes .

She rings again. Waits.  No answer.

She’s not about to be  deterred . 

She takes her phone out and dials his number. Waits. 

_ “This is Malcolm...” _

She curses under her breath as she hangs up. Tries the door again before texting.

**_ I am at the door. Open up. _ **

A beat. Then she adds

**_ Please. We need to talk about this. _ **

She waits for ten minutes, periodically ringing at the door without any answer  whatsoever .

Cursing his stubbornness and starting to feel the cold and the judging gaze of the officers in the car she decides to change strategy.

**_ Bright’s being his stubborn self. I’ll wait him up. _ ** **** She texts JT as she settles back in her car, turning it up to warm up. 

**_ Doctors say Gil’s out of the wood and woke up. Was asleep when I arrived. Want  _ ** **_ company _ ** **_? _ **

Dani smiles. That’s one less worry. 

**_ I’m fine, thanks. Say hi to Tally for me. _ **

**_ Will do. Good luck. _ **

She wasn’t sure luck would be enough to deal with Malcolm but it’s all she had. 

* * *

It is 1 AM when, finally, she spots Malcolm’s figure walking out of his building. She grins, happy that her strategy worked. She gets out of her car, pulls her jacket closer to herself and follows him. He doesn’t seem to be conscious where he was going and she wonders how it was that he had never been mugged before as  late-night walks  was his default answer to stress and insomnia.

She lets him ten minutes before she jogs to catch up to him.

“Come here often?” She asks as she steps in pace next to him, hoping to diffuse any tension.

He visibly jumps and she feels bad for it.

“What are you doing here?” He asks, not stopping his walk but crossing his arms. 

He’s on the defensive. 

“I was worried about you. Wanted to talk to you.”

“I’m fine. You can go home.” 

She rolls her eyes at him.

“I get it. You’re mad. Although, why exactly I’m not sure...”

“Maybe because you sent my sister to prison!”

He turns towards her so suddenly that she almost doesn’t stop walking in time. His eyes are ablaze with anger and something else, but more than anything he looks exhausted.

“Malcolm.” She has to force herself to stay calm. “Ainsley killed Endicott.”

“I know! I was there!”

“Then you know she should be the one held resp-”

“No! It is not her fault!” He interrupts her strongly. “You don’t understand Dani! This whole mess is mine! She killed him because... Because I was too weak to do it myself!”

Fury is still clear in his wide blue eyes but she suddenly understands he isn’t mad at her but at himself. She doesn’t know precisely what had happened in that living room but she is quite sure not killing a man is not weakness.

“Malcolm...”

“I don’t want to hear it Dani.”

He turns but she catches him.

“No. I won’t let you do that. You’re not cutting me out. Nor anyone else for that matter. I’m your friend. And I know you did the right thing not killing Endicott. And I wish things would have gone differently but you going to prison in Ainsley’s place wouldn’t have fixed anything.”

“She didn’t know what she was doing.” He explains, eyes to the pavement. She feels his never-ending tremor under her hand and her heart squeezes for him.

“Then her advocates will prove it. But she has to face the consequences of her actions. I know you know that.” 

She watches as his face crumbles and he starts to cry. She pulls him in a hug and he clutches her. It feels weird. Neither of them  were overly tactile people but, on this occasion, words  seem too feeble to help.

“It’s going to be alright.” She tells him, willing him to believe her.

She’s not sure he will but he doesn’t let got so she thinks that maybe, just maybe, she will get a chance to convince him.

**Author's Note:**

> Now that's done! Tell me what you think!
> 
> Also, I want to adress a HUGE thank you to all the fanfictions writers out there! You made the wait bearable, hell you made life bearable. So THANK YOU. And keep doing your work, you are the best!


End file.
